Heathen Beliefs

Sources on the religious beliefs and practices of the former inhabitants of these lands are relatively scarce. What we do know comes to us through written accounts of missionaries and priests of the early colonies, and oral tradition of the few who survived the wars and plagues that have decimated the natives, most of whom are now of mixed race and have been somewhat separated from their traditions. Following is a catalog of their Deities, with what little we know about them:

Zircon the Progenitor, is a hermaphroditic god, said to have brought the four other principal deities into being through laughter. Alignment: True Neutral; Domains: Artifice, Luck, Travel, Trickery. Favored Weapon: Sling; Sacred Color: Clear.

Amethyst, Goddess of Time. Alignment: Neutral Evil; Domains: Charm, Destruction, Evil, Knowledge; Favored Weapon: Poison; Sacred Color: Violet.

Chrysoprase, Goddess of Matter and Space, gave birth to the four gods of our planetary realm. Her four children together created the mysterious source of all magic in the world, the Lode Stone. Alignment: Neutral Good; Domains: Creation, Good, Strength; Favored Weapon: Javelin; Sacred Color: Bright Green.

Jacinth, God of the Spheres, is said to be the father of energy and magic, and the god who, with Chrysoprase, sired the four gods of our planetary realm. Alignment: Chaotic Neutral; Domains: Chaos, Liberation, Magic; Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff; Sacred Color: Orange.

Obsidian, God of Law. Alignment: Lawful Neutral; Domains: Community, Nobility, Law, Rune; Favored Weapon: Long Sword; Sacred Color: Black.

The offspring of Chrysoprase are:

Garnet, the Father of Earth. Alignment: Chaotic Good; Domains: Animal, Earth, Healing, Plant, Repose; Favored Weapon: Mace; Sacred Color: Brown.

Emerald, the Mother of Waters. Alignment: Chaotic Evil; Domains: Madness, War, Water; Favored Weapon: Trident; Sacred color: Sea Green.

Topaz, Queen of the Sky. Alignment: Lawful Good; Domains: Air, Glory, Protection, Sun, Weather; Favored Weapon: Long Bow; Sacred Colors: Sky Blue and Silver.

Hematite, King of the Fiery Underworld. Alignment: Lawful Evil; Domains: Darkness, Death, Fire; Favored Weapon: Scythe; Sacred Colors: Black and Red.

Two gods were said to have ascended to deities from the ranks of mortals:

Gabriella, Consort of Topaz was said to be a Rouvanian Princess, one of the eldest of the race of Elves, who rose to become the "Archangel of the Heavens." Alignment: Chaotic Good; Domain: Air; Favored Weapon: Long Bow; Sacred Colors: Sky Blue and White.

Phanuel, Consort of Hematite was one of the founders of Drowish civilization and one of the greatest sorcerers ever to live. Alignment: Chaotic Neutral; Domain: Fire; Favored Weapon: Rapier; Sacred Color: Molten Red.

In addition to these deities, there were five dragons who were once worshipped as guardians of this land, who were said to be dead, but who would one day be reborn. They are:

Lode Stone, Emperor. Alignment: Lawful Good; Domains: Artifice, Good, Protection, Scalykind; Favored Weapon: Greataxe; Sacred Color: Platinum.

Gold, Guardian of the South. Chaotic Good. Domain: Fire

Bronze, Guardian of the West. True Neutral. Domain: Water

Silver, Guardian of the North. Neutral Good. Domain: Air

Copper, Guardian of the East. Lawful Neutral. Domain: Earth

They were said to have been replaced by five other dragons, who usurped their places:

Red, Emperor. Alignment: Chaotic Evil; Domains: Evil, Destruction, Scalykind; Favored Weapon: Greataxe; Sacred Color: Red.

Green, Scourge of the South. Lawful Evil.

White, Plague of the West. Chaotic Neutral.

Blue, Despot of the North. Neutral Evil.

Black, Watcher of the East. True Neutral.

The Sea Serpent, Consort of Emerald. Alignment: Chaotic Evil; Domain: Water, Scalykind; Favored Weapon: Trident; Sacred Color: Aquamarine.

It was apparently believed that certain other world rulers, such as the Grand Goblin (domain: magic) and the Fairy Queen (domain: animal) had, like the great dragons, achieved divine status, were delegated control over a single domain, and were considered "emissaries" of the gods who were worthy of cults in their own right and able to grant access to the divine powers associated with their domain. Of course, the cults of the gods, and the corollary dragon, emperor, and empress worship that accompanied them, have languished with the decline and fall of the civilizations of this continent.

Atanas, the Grand Goblin. Alignment: Lawful Neutral; Domain: Magic; Favored Weapon: Falchion; Sacred Color: Gold.

Sahariel, Fairy Queen. Alignment: Chaotic Good; Domain: Animal; Favored Weapon: Longspear; Sacred Colors: Purple and Yellow.

The Old Religion

The old religion tells how the gods came from the East, from across the oceans, and made the impassable reaches of the Plateau of Periculum their home. There they created Man, and the old stories tell how Man was tricked into betraying the gods by the evil god Maleus and was thus driven out of the Plateau. The myths and stories of the old religion tell of the doings and wars of the gods, and how Man was plagued by them.

According to the old myths and stories, there were three alliances of gods.

The Celestials were gods of sky, wisdom and goodness: Waring, Sibyl, Sibert, Jephson, Morley, Jacoby, and Selig.

The Oceanians were gods of dreams, travel and chaos: Milo, Trin, Thyra, Fiona, Jilian, Alda, and Odile.

The Periculeans were gods of evil, fire, and magic: Maleus, Felam, Madhao, Aithne, Norval and Dagmar. Maleus is one of the more mysterious gods in the old pantheon. He grants the same domains as Thyra, who in some myths and legends is described as his twin sister and in other myths as an alter ego.

The months of the year and the days of the week are named after gods of the old religion, each associated with different attributes and elements of nature. After the cult of the One True God became dominant in the old countries, the gods were transformed into "saints," most of whom are still revered among Hierophantists.

The male months have 31 days each, and the female have 30 days each.

Many odd Haldeven customs dating back to ancient times can be traced to these attributions. For instance, the superstition that one must never embark on a journey on St. Thyra's Day goes back to the belief that, though St. Thyra is the goddess of travel, she is also the goddess of trickery, and her day is followed by that of St. Felam, god of evil, destruction and chaos. Rather, it was more propitious to embark on a journey in the fourth hour on St. Waring's Day (Thyra's hour), so as to be shielded from Thyra's trickery by the god of protection. In ancient times, it was considered auspicious to initiate law suits on St. Milo's Day, get married on St. Sibyl's day, move into a new house on St. Sibert's Day, and so on.

The One True God Faith

At the beginning of the present era, when we were ready to receive Her Truth, Laa, the One True God revealed herself to us through the Great Prophet, St. Peregrinus. It can be said that in the bright light of wisdom bestowed upon mankind by Peregrinus, the mist of ancient superstition began to melt away. Alignment: Lawful Good; Domains: Community, creation, glory, good, healing, knowledge, law, liberation, nobility, protection, repose, strength, sun, travel, weather; Favored Weapon: Lance.

Of course, the ancient text of our faith, The Book of Laa, tells of great miracles performed by Peregrinus and of armies of angels whom he summoned in a great war against the old gods. Interpreted in the wrong way, such accounts could continue to perpetuate irrationality and ignorance. But understood in the true light, they are seen as parables of how the old pagan slavishness must by banished by the rational mind.

We now understand that Laa is the only true God and Creator. It was Her intention to create a universe ruled by laws in which, once she set them forth, it should not be necessary to intervene miraculously, just as the maker of a clock, once he sets it in motion, has no need to intervene so as to make the gears turn or the hands move. So it is the duty of Men, who are the children and creations of Laa, to understand the laws by which the Universe is governed, live compassionately toward each other, and in the end after death, their spirits liberated from their mortal shells, rejoin Laa in Her beautiful Heaven, far beyond the bounds of this realm of existence.

There is a certain apocryphal, heretical tradition that St. Peregrinus passed a "secret doctrine" on to a small number of disciples known as the "Doctrine of the Left Hand of God." According to one account, this doctrine allegedly teaches that good cannot exist without evil, and that some are burdened with the holy calling of serving evil so that good might exist. But despite rumors that exist of dark witches and sorcerers in our midst who secretly worship the Lord of Darkness (Chaotic Evil), and despite the existence of pseudo-occult texts which encourage certain sociopaths to attempt to dabble in such worship, there is no evidence that such a cult or cults exist in earnest.

There are three branches of the One True God Faith. The most ancient form, which has grown corrupt over the millennia due to the dominance of priests and hierophants who wished to keep the people in their thrall, is the form commonly practiced in the Shushanish Empire, known as Hierophantism. Hierophantism never completely relinquished many of the pagan beliefs of the old religion. Hierophantists continue to encourage veneration of the Holy Ones or Saints, who are now put forth as ancient, pure and holy practitioners of the faith or prophets who preceded St. Peregrinus, but who are little more than syncretized pagan gods. The Hierophantist approach to the faith is generally more mystical, more centered in ritual, and there is a greater susceptibility among its adherents to idle belief in miracles. It has been suggested that new forms of Hierophantism have been developing as a result of the Shushanish peoples' interactions with the indigenous peoples of the south.

The second, and purest, branch of the One True God Faith is that practiced in the Waltian colonies or former colonies, which was purified and reformed by Alexander Farther three centuries ago, commonly known as Fartherism. This branch insists on simplicity in worship, and a pragmatic, rational, non-superstitious approach to faith.

The third branch of the One True God Faith is practiced predominantly among the poorer, ignorant, rural classes in the more isolated regions of the Republic of Haldeve, particularly in the Nortonian Republic, known as Ecstaticism. Their worship is characterized by speaking in tongues and the performance of healings and other miracles. Lacking such miracles, they say, is proof of insufficient faith in the One True God. But Ecstaticists are known for their intolerance and lack of charity toward others outside of their faith, which suggests that it is perhaps they who lack faith in the God known as the Mother of All Charity.